Necessary Roughness Canceled After Three Seasons

USA has benched Necessary Roughness for good.

The football drama has been canceled after three seasons, TVGuide.com has confirmed. "We are proud of this show and its writers, which had a unique ability to address topical subjects before they unfolded in real life on the sports pages," USA said in a statement Tuesday. "We want to thank Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro, the incredible cast led by Golden Globe nominee Callie Thorne and our partners at Sony Television."

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Centered on a therapist who becomes the shrink for an NFL team, Necessary Roughness premiered in June 2011. The show never developed a strong hold on fans, and several major creative changes were made after Season 2, including the exit of Marc Blucas and the addition of John Stamos. Stamos played the head of a sports and entertainment management empire called V3, where Thorne's Dr. Dani worked after she left the New York Hawks football team. Scott Cohen and Mehcad Brooks also starred.

During its run, Necessary Roughness covered several hot sports topics such as coming out as a gay professional athlete and the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The show averaged 4 million total viewers.

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Thorne was one of the first to announce the show's demise early Tuesday in a series of heartfelt tweets. "Bidding farewell to Necessary Roughness & the 3 years I was BLESSED to have. This show was bound tgthr w the blood, sweat, laughter & tears of an outstanding group of creators, producers, directors, designers, actors, an unparalleled crew, tried and true fans. Any and all of whom I would be lucky to call friend. I will miss all of u terribly. And as my old pal Dr Seuss likes to say[:] Don't cry because it's over - Smile because it happened."

Will you miss Necessary Roughness?